hahaha thanks shug. very entertaining as well as informative. i'm leaning more than ever toward the WBRR.
by the way, a friend of mine was an advance clown for ringling-brothers. he goes by "bonzo krunch". not sure if you ever knew him.
-eric
hahaha thanks shug. very entertaining as well as informative. i'm leaning more than ever toward the WBRR.
by the way, a friend of mine was an advance clown for ringling-brothers. he goes by "bonzo krunch". not sure if you ever knew him.
-eric
1. I'm from the school of thought that thinks how you sleep in a bed is irrelevant. It's a hammock, not a bed. If you enter into hammocking with the preconceived notion that you want a hammock that's closest to your bed experience (which sounds pretty uncomfortable, I might add), then you've pretty much limited yourself to a bridge. Personally, I wouldn't consider a bridge until I'd examined the cheaper alternatives. I'm a side sleeper in a bed; pretty much a back sleeper in a hammock. If you haven't even tried sleeping in a hammock, you've picked out some pretty expensive rigs there.
2. You can get a $30 gathered-end hammock from Dutch, and a decent tarp from a cottage vendor for $85 to $130. Toss in a suspension for $30-ish and your entry point into hammocking is much, much cheaper than the options you're considering.
3. With all that extra money you could buy an UQ - that's the best money I've ever spent. I was stubborn too, and stuck with a pad for two years, but the UQ will improve your hammock experience more than any other piece of gear.
4. One of the reasons I don't like hammocks with integrated bugnets, zippers, overcovers, or other bells and whistles is because I'm a hiker and try to keep my pack weight down. However, another reason I like simple gathered end hammocks is because I think the most exciting thing happening in the hammock community is the new fabrics coming out. I can make a gathered-end hammock (or buy one) for less than $35. Dutch's PolyD 1.4 polyester hammock is the most comfortable material I've ever slept in - there are so many other hammock fabrics I'm looking forward to trying as well. However, if I wanted to try them in a Swiss-army knife hammock, it would become prohibitively expensive quickly.
5. Plenty of people share the "What if I have to go to ground?" fear, and there's always a weight/comfort penalty associated with it. I've personally never had to go to ground for any reason, but I'm especially not worried about lack of trees - I plan my trips sufficiently that there's virtually no chance I'd end up in some barren treeless wasteland. If I wanted to camp in some spot like that (desert, above the treeline, etc.), I'd bring a tent. That desire for versatility - a setup that works on the ground or hanging from trees, ends up giving you substandard hammock comfort, also.
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson
thanks silversurfer, i am looking at this with an open mind, and i appreciate your suggestions. i might indeed try one of those $30 dutch-ware hammocks. it definitely seems like a cheap way to see if i like a gathered-end hammock.
regarding the pad and my concerns about going to ground, i travel by motorcycle, and often do not plan my stops. sometimes i know where i'll be camping, sometimes i just ride through the VA mountains and get lost on purpose. i think once i end up with a hammock, whichever kind i try out first, i will take along with me my 1-man sierra-designs tent and a pad. just for peace of mind. i can afford the extra weight and space.
thanks again for your input,
-eric
I think on the east coast you are pretty safe with finding trees wherever you stop. Or at least within a decent distance away. Out west is a different story.
"No whining in the woods"
I love my Gathered End hammock I made years ago. Same hammock for years and cost me $1.50/yrd. 4 yards total for hammock and stuff sacks and the like. That's $6 for hammock plus a little here and there for suspension, SRL(structural ridge lines), DIY bugnet, DIY tarp. Very inexpensive.
My wife likes my hammock, but, not to sleep in. Her legs get very sore in a Gathered End. For her medical needs, a Bridge is better. Not a whole lot more as far as DIY, but, a lot more expensive, than Gathered End due to hardware, for me.
Only you can decide what is better for you. Before your purchase, go to several Group Hangs and try some hammocks out. If you have a tent, take it. You'll still be welcomed and you can see many different types for yourself.
If you can manage a short trip to Florida, Fifth Annual Florida Hang , FHV is during MLK weekend in January. There will be 130+ hangers, ground dwellers, camper trailers and hotel sleepers. Some coming from your area.
We would love to host you and your family and you can try almost every type of hammock there is. Eat until your burst. Kayak trips, lake fishing, group hikes, Dutch Oven heaven, camp fires and very large indoor fireplace.
Good luck in finding your personal hammock heaven.
Enjoy and have fun with your family, before they have fun without you
thanks floridahanger. i used to do a lot of work for brighthouse networks in tampa and central FL, and for cox in gainesville and ocala, but those projects are done. otherwise i could invent a reason to go
but i appreciate the invitation, and i will keep my eyes open for a group hang closer to where i'm at.
thanks,
-eric
i just pulled the trigger on a warbonnet blackbird XLC. thanks to everybody who offered input here. as well as everybody else's posts on the other forums here.
still figuring out the top-quilt at the moment. will use a pad for the next month or two, then decide on which underquilt. there's so many choices....
You bought the right hammock. I got a BlackBird XLC this past spring and love it. Santa is bringing me synthetic UQ and TQ. As long as you hang the foot end about 6 in higher than head, you will be Soooo comfy. If, in your travels, you see a really oldfart (66) on a Victory Kingpin or Buell Ulysses hammock camping, it will be me. Only way to go!
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